If you’ve just started Muay Thai/Kickboxing training, then you’ve most likely been wearing any old shorts and an old loose fitting t-shirt to class. This is fine for your first class or so. You don’t even know if you’ll like it yet so there’s no need to invest in top quality gear before you’ve even […]

Kettlebells are all the rage at the moment and people from all walks of life and training systems are adapting them into their training protocols. And for good reason too. Kettlebell training is one of the best ways to increase your power and functional strength. All without having to spend tons of money on equipment […]

Some form of strength training or resistance training is mandatory if you take your MMA or BJJ training seriously. Technique and skill will take you far, but will still only take you so far. You have to make sure you have the cardio, the stamina, the flexibility, and of course, the strength. Without these attributes, […]

Gymnasts are amongst the strongest people on earth. Power lifters and olympic lifters are strong, but none of them have the some level of control of their bodies that gymnasts have. Power lifters are good at picking up and throwing objects, so of course you can see how that would be a beneficial skill to […]

While Polaris becomes a more established brand the overall operation is becoming slicker, this year’s weigh in setup is a little different. After taking inspiration from their streaming partner UFC fightpass, Polaris are switching up the weigh in process, with fighters being weighed in the morning and a ceremonial weigh in during the evening. For […]

Your elbows and other joints are taking a constant beating when you’re training hard. Your muscles might be growing and getting stronger but the joints and ligaments just can’t grow and strengthen the same way that your muscular tissue can. They can’t adapt as fast and they can’t adapt as well as muscle which is […]

Functional training is all the rage these days and for good reason. There was a time when fighters would only train by doing their specific fighting disciplines and then just going off to lift weights. Often lifting weights in a bodybuilding training paradigm too, rather than strength, endurance focuses, etc. As you can imagine, it […]

The bad blood between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov continue to simmer as their April 7 date in New York’s Barclays Center nears. El Cucuy has promised to ‘dance around’ Nurmagomedov, leave him bloody and finish him with liver shots. Nurmagomedov meanwhile, threatened not only to break Ferguson’s face but to break El Cucuy’s arm […]

After the success of their last event, the Polaris Jiu-Jitsu Invitational returns to the Indigo at The O2, London. This time we’re looking at a slightly newer format, with contender matches and titles on the line. The 6th installation of the world-renowned Jiu-Jitsu event pulls no stops again, with familiar faces, local favourites and big […]

Weight training can be extremely helpful alongside your MMA and BJJ training. Technique is of course the most important element, but what many people try to hide is just how important strength, cardio and general athleticism is with these sports. To excel at MMA, boxing, kickboxing, BJJ, etc. you have to be a complete athlete. […]

Music can have a powerful affect on human beings. We are all moved by music. Probably your favorite movies are your favorite movies, in part, because of the movie’s soundtrack. Think of how diminished your enjoyment of such movies would be without their accompanying music. The right music, at the right time, can make us […]

How important is confidence to your success in BJJ? Well, that depends on your definition of success. So, the first question to ask yourself is, “are you a competitor or a recreational athlete?” Here’s the definition I use: a competitor is anyone who reaches for the pinnacles of the sport: an IBJJF World Championship, an […]

The bench press is arguably the king of exercises. It might not be as functionally important as the deadlift or the squat, but it is still in the top five of the best compound exercises. It’s the exercise that everyone knows and that all newbies automatically gravitate to when entering a gym for the first […]

If you take your strength workouts seriously then barbell training is a must. You can’t seriously increase your strength just by using kettlebells or doing sprints. You need to get under a heavy barbell and do squats and presses until you puke. Or as close as you can come to puking without actually having to […]

Dumbbells are a handy and versatile tool that you can use in a variety of different ways to achieve a variety of different goals. If you’re into bodybuilding and are lifting weights primarily for the purpose of increasing muscle mass, then they are an invaluable tool. Barbells are great and should be used in your […]

Combat sports and martial arts were once seen as a boys club. There was once a time when the very idea of a woman competing in boxing was completely wild and unheard of. But times have changed. There have now been many successful female boxers and multiple weight divisions in the UFC that cater exclusively […]

There are many benefits to using a speed bag in your training. Some of them obvious, like increasing speed. Some of them not so obvious, such as encouraging fighters to keep their hands up and ready to protect themselves. Every aspiring boxer or MMA fighter should be regularly training with a speed bag as much […]

Muay Thai is one of the core disciplines of MMA. Arguably, the main disciplines in MMA would be Boxing, Wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and then of course, Muay Thai. Now, that’s not to limit MMA and say that you can only train in those if you wish to be successful. It’s not true. There are fighters […]

Heavy bags are great. They are a necessary part of boxing training, MMA training and Muay Thai training. Any legitimate gym worth its salt will have their students hitting one of these bags at some point in their training sessions. These heavy bags allow you to practice your big, heavy strikes and combos in a […]

Every time that I step onto the mat, I have a game plan that I would like to implement. Losses come from not being able to pull the trigger on the game plan before my opponent starts to play to their strengths. With that being said, there are a couple factors that will always play […]